Like father…like daughter

Another Huffer attorney begins practice in Delphi

By Debbie Lowe Staff writer

Two Huffers…one office Local attorney Jim Huffer is proud to announce that his daughter, Abigail, not only passed the bar exam last February, but she has now joined his law firm in Delphi. The father and daughter are pictured above on the day Abigail became a practicing attorney in Indiana. Photo provided Abigail Huffer had nearly constant contact with the practice of law growing up in Carroll County. She graduated from Delphi Community High School in 2000 and much of her time as a youth, she sat at a dinner table with the county prosecutor, who happened to be her father Jim Huffer.

"I was always interested in the law," she said. "I was in high school when my dad was prosecutor. He had a big murder case during that time."

Huffer's interest in law did not leave her as she graduated from DePauw University in 2004 or as she received a Masters degree in Business Administration from Valparaiso University in May 2008. She earned a Juris Doctor (JD) Degree from VU's School of Law in December of the same year and passed the bar last February.

"I'm fascinated with the law," she said. "I interned in a Greencastle law firm while at DePauw, although I first majored in science. I then went into English. I also worked for Pearlman, Chosnek and Hopson legal firm in Lafayette as a legal assistant for a year before continuing on to Valparaiso."

Huffer developed an interest, and expertise, in estate and business planning while in school. She is a licensed insurance and investment agent and has put those skills to good use at the WestPoint Financial Group. Huffer said the Indianapolis business is the largest comprehensive financial planning company in the state and she remains in their employ.

In late July, Huffer joined the elder Huffer's law firm, Obear, Overholser, Huffer and Rider in Delphi. She said she will bring her estate planning expertise to the local area to be able to offer another resource for the firm. She said she plans to split her time between the Delphi law office and the Indianapolis firm.

"I want to establish myself professionally," Huffer said. "I enjoy working with my father, but I don't want to become known just as Jim Huffer's daughter."

"The advice my dad gave me about being an attorney was to always have a good handshake and to remember the importance of negotiation when working with people," she added.

Huffer said she will do family law cases and provide litigation services in court for the Delphi law firm. Huffer will also offer estate planning in Delphi. She said working in the local prosecutor's office was "not out of sight for the future."

"I'm excited about having the opportunity to work with my dad and Jeff Rider," she concluded. "I don't want to disappoint my dad. All of my parents, including my mother and stepfather, Griffin and Neal Anderson, have instilled the value of hard work and community relationships with me. I owe each of them a great deal of gratitude for their support all these years."